


Within Our Minds

by janeaustensdisciple



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, F/M, More tags to be added, Pacific Rim AU, Slow Burn, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Written by an Asexual, drift compatible, student/trainer dynamic, we may just be in for a long ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 02:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14250819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janeaustensdisciple/pseuds/janeaustensdisciple
Summary: Rey has been running her entire life. Running from the Kaiju, running from her loneliness, but she doesn't know towards what.Kylo has been chased his entire life. By his father's legacy as a star pilot, his lost childhood, and the pressure to live up to what others say about him. It wasn't until he met her that he began to run toward something instead of away.--When fiery and persistent Rey ends up as a cadet of Kylo, son of star-pilot-turned-general Han, he finds himself particularly bothered. Maybe it's because she questions all of his orders, or does way too well for a trainee during practice, or asks him personal questions. That's what he wants to believe, at least. Ah, he's completely in love with her. It was obvious from the start.





	Within Our Minds

**Author's Note:**

> Well, well, well! I finally got around to writing this. This is actually my first fanfic, like ever. It's the brainchild of my love for reylo and Pacific Rim. This first chapter is a whole lot of exposition, but it'll pick up from here! It's also very short, but it won't always be like this. Feedback is so so appreciated! Cheers--
> 
> Notes for terms at the end.

Light. Dark. Jaeger. Kaiju. These forces kept the world at war, kept it fighting until humanity would exhaust itself, finally torn apart by the politics of good and bad. Rey had grown up on an earth destroyed by the Rift, and had never known a life that wasn't running from the massive alien invaders that crushed entire cities under their might. The first attack was 15 years ago, when she had only been four years old. Her parents disappeared during the deadly Kaiju rampage in Sacramento, and she had run. It's something she'd had to become good at. And she had been on her own since.

She now stretched her cramped legs inside the tiny space which she had occupied in the past 6 months. It was the remains of what was once a library, judging from the thousands of tattered books labelled "Niima County Library". She picked one up from one of the many piles that scattered the area. "Harrison. Norbert. Blue. Levinson.", she read from the last names on the check out log inside the cover. Rey couldn't help but wonder if those people were still alive today. Her last name didn't matter. No one would recognize it anymore, no one would care. It wouldn't get food on her table, anyway. Well, if you'd call the clean concrete portion of her floor a "table".

Weak Seattle sunlight poured through the angled stained-glass window, fallen from the attack that had destroyed the area, and cast a colorful light on Rey's latest project. It was a hunk of metal from the fallen Romeo Blue, a testament of the damage the city had sustained. She worked quickly, dusting the metal until it shined. Plutt would likely pay her the normal amount of cash for her find, just enough to buy herself some food and supplies.

She and him moved wherever Kaiju attacks occurred, following the bad luck like a group of hungry vultures. And that's what they were, gathering the remains of fallen jaegers to sell to companies and criminal organizations. They made a living from the war, but it was the war that had put them in this situation anyway. But jaegers were strong bastards, and don't fall too often. One could sustain parts for a good two years, but it could be another two until another fell.

Plutt employed 50-odd scavengers to do his dirty work; paying them for materials they found. The trips inside the fallen giants were dangerous at times, and Rey knew to always carry a good 20 meters of rope with her each time, as well as her staff. Well, a repurposed utility pipe wrapped with cloth. It served her well during skirmishes with other scavengers over more valuable items like control panels and power sources. But she always won.

Some, like Rey, were regulars. Some went to Plutt when they, too, became another casualty in the Kaiju war. She had worked for him for years now, and her success rate on trips gave her a good reputation with him. His prices for items were cheap, and he gave her the impression of a particularly greasy bulldog, but money was money.

She sat up now, satisified with her handiwork, and set it aside. Rey tied her hair into three buns, the unsual hairstyle her mother used to do for her. She hoped, foolishly, that her parents were still alive somewhere. They had likely died during the attack, but Rey didn't like to think like that. Maybe she'd see them again, and they'd recognize her 3-bun style, and she'd come home again.

Gathering her staff and rope, she stepped into the cool air, relishing the smell of the sea and rain since gone. She had been to many cities now, following the scent of war, but she appreciated that this one was colder than that of Sacramento or Los Angeles. Of course, her accent betrayed that she had actually been born in an English province, and had only moved to the U.S when she was a few years old. People still questioned her on this small factor, despite their more dire situation that carried a higher conversational value.

"Morning Plutt", Rey yelled after walking a few minutes. She brandished her hunk of metal, indicating that she was here to reap some cash.

Plutt waved her over dismissively from his place in the storefront across the rubble-strewn street.

"This Romeo Blue 'is still got a whole ton of material", he acknowledged, turning the piece over in his hands.

Rey nodded. "It's a Mark-1", she said, "Older ones always have the more expensive materials".

Plutt grunted. "Ten dollars.", and practically threw a wad of crumpled bills across the counter of his run-down store. It was a repurposed center for his business, but was once a sandwich shop. One half of the building was a pile of rubble, but the other was relatively functional.

Rey said nothing, internally wincing at the small number, and shoved the money down the pocket of her cargo shorts.

"What's the news today? Have an eye on any good parts?" She asked. She didn't dare wander into any part of a Jaeger that she wasn't sure of, and instead waited until Plutt told her where to go. He seemed to know a lot about their mechanics, and her and the other scavengers mused that he had once been a part of the Program.

Plutt leaned across the counter, making an obvious effort to quiet his voice despite the lack of any other person in the store.

"This one's a Mark-1. I reckon the PPDC wouldn't have collected the arm controls after it fell. They didn't expect too many attacks early on. I want you to get to the Conn-Pod and get your hands on them."

Rey's mind raced. The Conn-Pod had been covered in the remains of a fallen building, unreachable by any of the scavengers. One had died, struck in the head by a dislodged piece of concrete. Plutt must be desperate to be asking this of her. The bastard'd probably been caught up in another gambling ring. Ass.

She swallowed. Plutt would probably pay big money for one of those arm controls, and she'd only been finding hunks of metal and simple wiring in months past. This could be good for her. She might be able to get out of here-- stop scavenging--. She shook her head. She'd need to survive this first. She was small, and could fit into tight spaces that the other scavengers couldn't. She could have a shot at this.

"I'll do it. But give me a few days. I need to find a way in, first.", Rey said finally, and Plutt grunted, turning back to count money in the box behind him.

She clenched her fingers and exited the store, already theorizing her heist in Romeo Blue's conn-pod. It wouldn't be easy, but the payoff would be good. It would take finesse, strength, and wit. Rey was good at those, she had learned.

**Author's Note:**

> Mark-1: Mark-[] is a general aging system for Jaegers (via launch date). The oldest ones are Mark-1's, up to Mark-5's.
> 
> Conn-Pod: The control room of the Jaeger, where the pilots manager the Jaeger.
> 
> Romeo Blue: Seattle's Jaeger.
> 
> PPDC: Pan Pacific Defense Corps/Jaeger program.


End file.
